


The House Across The Street

by TheSunsetsLonger



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-18 12:27:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8162044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSunsetsLonger/pseuds/TheSunsetsLonger
Summary: Mulder and Scully get new neighbours with a connection to their past.





	1. Seven Years

The moving truck pulled away from the house next door just as Scully placed a plate of food in front of an exhausted Mulder. They'd spent the entire day in the yard getting it ready for the winter while their new neighbours were moving in. 

The couple who had bought the neighbouring house were a little older than Mulder and Scully, but only by a couple of years. Mulder had heard rumours that the older couple had a little dog, whom Mulder hoped was well trained and wouldn't cause him any trouble. 

"I'm telling you, if that little mutt is barking all night, I will make sure it’s mysteriously abducted," he had told Scully after he'd come home from saying goodbye to their old neighbours. Scully had just chuckled and told him that it was more likely that Mulder would cause the neighbours more trouble than the dog would them. 

Now they sat in their kitchen, eating dinner and looking over at the dainty house across the street, and tried to profile who their new neighbours would be. The house was dark apart from the front room which was dimly lit by a few candles and a lamp in the window. 

Mulder and Scully had had a great relationship with their old neighbours and weren't too sure if they actually wanted to get along with the new couple as it would feel like a betrayal towards Molly and Sam who's loved there before. Mulder and a Scully had spent every thanksgiving and Christmas with the couple the past 5 years and weren't ready to break that bond just yet. 

"They can't be too bad," Scully said in between chews. 

Mulder's mouth was still full of pasta so he let out a grunt in response to her statement.

"I mean, they moved in quickly and don't seem to have any weird kinks from what I could see of their possessions," Scully continued. 

"Scully how can you even say that? After all of the things you've seen during the x files how can you not be the slightest bit suspicious," Mulder said before sucking another strand of pasta between his lips. "You know, they could be aliens."

"Mulder I am not going to allow you to create an x file about our new neighbours," Scully replied and slapped Mulder's arm before he could move out of her reach. He should've seen that coming. 

"Besides," Scully continued, "they have a child so maybe you'll finally find someone who's on the same wavelength as you." She smiled at Mulder, who pretended to act hurt, before kissing his cheek and continuing her dinner. 

After living in the house for a week, without any disturbance from the couple and their dog next door, Mulder woke at 8am to a bustle outside. He groaned and turned in the bed, throwing his left arm across Scully's front and pulling her sleeping body towards him. He snuggled closely to her and nuzzled behind her ear before letting out a contented sigh and falling back to sleep. 

Five minutes later he woke up again to a yelp, followed by laughter. He groaned again, this time waking Scully up.

"What's your problem?" She growled at him, pulling him back to cuddle her in an attempt to get him to settle. 

"There's so much noise coming from outside," he whined. 

Scully turned to face Mulder as he fake pouted to get some sympathy from her.  
"Don't think about it."

"But I can't sleep," he pouted even more now making Scully chuckle and reach up, grazing her thumb across his bottom lip. 

"Come here," she said. Her eyes quickly turned dark and her voice was now a sultry whisper. 

Mulder ducked down and captured her lips with his, kissing her slowly and passionately. Scully moaned into his mouth as his tongue slipped between her lips and started a warm wet dance with her tongue. 

Scully flipped her body round to lie on her back under him as their tongues continued their waltz. Scully slipped her hand into his boxers to squeeze his firm ass and started tugging at them to expose his fully grown length. 

Mulder stopped the assault on her mouth and assisted her in pulling down his own as well as her underwear before returning to his task at hand. Scully took the opportunity to take her fingernails from the nape of his neck down his firm muscles which stretched across his broad shoulders, and followed his spine to return her hands to their place on his now naked cheeks. 

Scully smiled into the kiss as she felt Mulder mirror her movements from a couple of seconds ago but instead of resting his hands on her ass, he entangled to fingers in her wet folds. 

The air was quiet except for theirheated pants and the ruffling of the bed sheets as they moved against each other, aching for a more intimate connection than fumbling hands. Scully raised both hands to cup Mulder's face, pulling him away from her, as she smiled before reaching up and tracing her tongue along his bottom lip. 

"I want you," she whispered and a heartbeat later she felt his engorged member enter her slick folds, expanding her and filling her completely.

All the moments of sorrow and fear disappeared in these moments of pure intimacy. Their losses and dreads forgotten for just a few moments while their bodies moved together, forming an electricity known to no one other than the two of them. Their bodies entangledin a wordless profession of love. It was a mix of passion and romance which could not be explained unless you were there in the moment. 

The love they felt for each other unexplainable to the outside world. No one else would be able to understand the grief they'd been through, both individually and separately, the worst being the loss of their son William. 

After climaxing together Mulder draped his hand over her abdomen and settled his head on her shouler not allowing their bodies, sticky from sex, to disconnect completely. Scully ran one hand up and down his arm while the other tickled the hair at his nape.

These are the moments of absolute calm, when they professed their love through sex and now just lay next to each other, feeling the heat that their love had created within their bodies. 

These few minutes of peace were what they wished they had all the time, their hearts were never at ease unless it was during and after sex. The constant sadness due to the loss of their son hovered over them as a dark cloud, always reminding them of what they could have had. 

The thoughts of William were flowing through both their minds. In the silence, they both knew that the other was also thinking about him. They had found a peace in knowing that they'd never not miss him but this paradox of sadness in peace was still a constant struggle. 

Mulder was about to fall back to sleep, using Scully's shoulder as his pillow, when he heard a crash from the bottom floor. He sat up in bed, scowling as he was pulled from the calm of laying in bed with Scully.

“Don't you move, I'll be right back,” he said, giving her a quick kiss before sliding out of bed. 

He pulled us boxers back on and threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before he headed down the creaking stairs to see what the commotion was. He notice the window in his office had shattered, glass splinters spread across his desk and floor. He looked around looking for the object which had been flung and was surprised when what he saw was not a stone but a ball. He'd recognise the not completely round shape of the white cowhide ball with red stitching anywhere. Mulder picked up the baseball and tossed it and caught it a couple of times before putting it in the drawer in his desk. 

Before leaving his office to clean up the glass splinters he peered out the hole in the window and saw a dog and his owner run back in the house across the street, however the owner was not who Mulder expected. Instead of Peter, the older man who moved in across the street, it was a young boy with thin legs and brown hair, which looked reddish as the sun hit his head. Mulder didn't have time to take in more of the boy's looks before he slid into the house across the street. 

Mulder headed out to the cupboard under the stairs and pulled out a broom to sweep up the glass from the floor and fixed the hole in his window with plastic wrapping, making a mental note to go over the neighbour’s house to have a word with the boy 

He sat down on the sofa with a glass of juice and a sandwich that Scully had made him before settling in front of the TV watching acrap soap that she didn't pay attention to. They spent some time cuddling on the sofa watching daytime TV before they got dressed to buy groceries. 

\--

Returning from a three hour shop Mulder and Scully set out to carry all 13 bags in the house before it was too late to start dinner. Scully balanced one bag while Mulder, with his longer arms, carried two. After two turns he told Scully to stay inside and start unpacking the bags while he finished carrying the remaining ones into house. 

He trotted down the stairs off the porch one last time to get the last load when he tripped over something and heard a yelp. Mulder looked down to see the same dog he usually saw in the neighbour's yard. He'd managed to go a week without having to meet the dog in question until now, when he found himself having accidentally stepped on the small jack russell's tail

"Daggoo!" a small voice came from behind the car, Mulder whipped his head around to see whom the voice belonged to. 

A boy not older than 7 or 8 came running past the car, lead in hand, shouting for his dog. The boy was too lost in his thoughts that he didn't stop walking until he ran right into Mulder's chest and fell back onto the ground with a thump. 

"Sorry, Sir!" the boy exclaimed as he scrambled back to his feet. 

"Hey, don't worry about it," Mulder chuckled. "But don't ever call me Sir again," he said with a stern look. 

"Uh sorry Sir, um mister," the boy replied nervously. 

"Mulder."

"That's a weird name," the boy said and held out his hand to shake Mulder's. 

Mulder took the much smaller hand in his and shook it, looking at the boy's face, and after allowing his eyes to take in his features,he suddenly froze. The boy had to pull his hand from Mulder's grip to free it so he could fasten the lead on his puppy, who was now stood at his feet. 

"Come here Daggoo," the boy said as he pulled the lead to get the dog to follow him back towards his house.

"Nice to meet you Mr Mulder," he shouted over his shoulder as he walked back down the path he came from. 

Mulder snapped out of whatever trance he was in and asked "Hey, what's your name?" but the boy had already sped off into a run as he headed back home. 

Not being able to shake the boy's familiar face from his mind he took the last two bags out of the boot of the car. He walked back inside dropping his load on the kitchen table where Scully had already unpacked the other bags. 

"What took you so long?" she asked as she heard Mulder re-enter the room, her back towards him as she washed the dishes from this morning's breakfast. 

When there was no reply she turned around to face him and saw the look on his face. His eyes were staring straight ahead as if frozen in time.

"Mulder, what's wrong? It looks like you've seen a ghost," she said wiping her hands on a kitchen towel and walking up to him placing a hand on his arm. 

He still didn't reply. 

Scully shook him a little again asking what happened. Eventually he snapped out of the trance he was in. 

"Uh, just the boy next door. He looked really um…” he choked up before he could finish his sentence; "familiar."

"You've probably just seen him in his yard or something Mulder, it's probably nothing," Scully replied and stroked his arm a couple of times before standing on her toes to peck him lightly on the corner of his mouth. 

"Now," she said "homemade pizza or frozen lasagna for dinner?"

"Uh, lasagna I guess?" Mulder shrugged his reply and then mindlessly started to put away the last grocery bag. 

\-- 

By the time Scully had finished her second helping of lasagna Mulder had barely taken a bite of his food. He'd been poking at his lasagna and rolling a cherry tomato around his plate while his mind was somewhere else. 

"Penny for your thoughts?" 

Mulder looked up from his plate to gaze into her blue eyes that were trying to read his thoughts. 

"It's just that boy, Scully... I know him from somewhere."

Concern struck Scully as she understood how much this was haunting him. They'd had moments like this before where they'd walked past a park full of kids and They had sworn they'd seen William, their son, playing on the swings. And the time they were at Dulles airport heading to California to visit Scully's brother when a boy with red hair was stood alone close to them. As they stood in line for the security scan and the TSA agent had asked the family of three to put their belongings in the same tray. The boy had questioningly looked up at Mulder who in turn had told the agent that the boy was not with them. 

There were a couple of moments like this where they were so sure it was him but it never was. 

"Is this about William?" Scully said, her voice catching as she said her son's name. 

Mulder tried to say something, his lips moved but no sound came out. 

"Mulder?"

He ran a hand through his hair as if that would help him process his thoughts. 

"I don't know. Scully, you should've seen him he looked just like..."

Before he could finish his sentence the bell rang. Mulder still lost in his thoughts remained seated as Scully got up to answer the door. 

The door swung open revealing Peter, their next door neighbour, standing just a foot from the door. 

"Sorry for bothering you at this time,"  
he said apologetically. 

"No worries, we were just finishing dinner," Scully politely replied. "Can I help you with something?" 

"Uh yeah, my son was here earlier to apologise but I don't think he did so I brought him back to do it properly."

Scully understood it had to do with the smashed window from this morning   
"Hey, W - Daggoo don't pee on their lawn! Come here!" Peter yelled at the dog who finished his business before running to his owner and tugging on the lead which was attached to the young boy's hand. 

"Daggoo?" Scully asked at the peculiar but still familiar name. She'd read the name a thousand times as she read and re-read her favourite book. 

"My son loves Moby Dick but neither his mom or I had read it has been in our bookshelf forever until he son begged us to read it to him. He's only seven," he said as the boy came to stand next to his dad. "Speaking of the devil."

Scully looked down at the boyand immediately froze. She now held the same look on her face as Mulder did just hours earlier when he'd returned with the last of the groceries. 

"I'm sorry Mrs Mulder for breaking your window," the boy said shyly, afraid that the red headed lady would be angry at him. 

But Scully said nothing. Instead she just stood there and stared at him, his dog sniffing at her feet but not paying her any more attention. 

Her eyes ran all over his features which she knew so well. His eyes a blue she'd only seen in her family and in her own reflection. The brown hair of her partner who was sat in the kitchen unknowing of what she was seeing. He had her colouring but his father's full bottom lip and his ears. Thankfully he had her nose but he was tall. Definitely got that from Mulder. 

"It can't be..." she said in a whisper as she held her hands to her mouth and gasped. 

She started to feel a little faint and stumble where she stood making her neighbour ask her if she was alright. 

"Yeah I'm fine. Perfect in fact." She glanced to Peter quickly before returning her gaze to the boy. To William. 

"Mulder!" she shouted over her shoulder and soon she heard her partner's steps near her. 

"Scully, what's wrong?" he asked as he saw her tear filled eyes staring back at him. 

His eyes followed hers as he realised who was standing in front them, and he knew exactly what she was thinking. It was him. Right on their doorstep stood their William. 

"Oh hi," Mulder said in a shaky voice, "what gives us the honour of your visit a second time today?" He had now focused his attention to the boy, to William,he corrected himself in his mind. 

"I'm sorry for breaking your window," William replied in the same voice he had used when he apologised to Scully just moments earlier. 

"Don't you worry about it son," Mulder said not registering the word that slipped out of his mouth. After all he didn't, officially, know the boy's name. 

"And what else were you going to say?" asked Peter, encouraging his son to speak up. 

"I will repay it by mowing your lawn for the rest of the year," William said, now more embarrassed than shy. 

"That's alright, I just mowed it the last time for the season the other day. It's not even that big of a hole, I can barely stick my arm through it."

Scully hadn't said a word throughout the entire exchange, she just followed the conversation with her eyes like the spectators at a tennis match. She was in awe at the amount of words that were coming out of Mulder's mouth, after all he was rarely one to be at loss for words. Neither was she, but after six years apart from her son she couldn't get a single word out. 

"Thank you for coming here and apologising, like I said, don't worry about it but you will owe me one," Mulder said and winked at the boy. 

"Okay," William said and looked up at his dad asking  
"Right, thank you again Fox," Peter said as he turned to go back home. 

"Please, it's Mulder." 

Mulder started to move when he heard the boy whisper to his dad "His name is Fox too?" and with that the boy and his father disappeared into the dark. 

Scully felt Mulder's arms snake around her, pulling her into his embrace where she breathed deeply and let out a long stream of tears. 

"I know," Mulder said into her auburn hair, "we found him."

He chuckled and felt Scully smile against his chest. She raised her head, propping her chin on his chest, and looked into his eyes, a smile building on his lips. 

"No," she reached her lips to meet his, "he found us."

Mulder took her hand in his and pulled her into the house, closing the door behind them. 

"William," he said, savouring his son's name before pulling Scully into a deep kiss.


	2. Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder runs into William, literally...

Closing the door behind him, Mulder set off on his daily run. Wearing thermal leggings under his shorts he head off into the forest at the back of the house following the trail he'd created by running the same 8k route five days a week for the past five years. The morning air was crisp and burned as he breathed, creating smoke on every exhale. He'd taken up running after a year of being on the run with Scully without physical exercise, excluding the sex they had daily. Mulder had felt himself become lazier and lazier after they had found their unremarkable house and had took up running. 

Scully had only gone with him twice, both times tricked by Mulder that it was just going to be a short run, each time she'd come back absolutely exhausted. She'd sworn she'd never run again and would stay back to meet a sex craved Mulder and would follow him into the shower for post-workout sex. Each time as appreciated as the other, by both parties.

Mulder leapt over the log, that fallen across the path during a storm two years ago, and dodged a low hanging branch on his right. Sweat was beginning to stream down his back as he turned the corner to come onto the road that lead back to the house. 

He heard a bark in the distance and knew it wasn't long until he'd reach the neighbour’s house. Mulder’s thoughts drifted back to the two days he got to spend with his newborn son. Remembering the newborn smell from when he had laid in bed with William in between him and Scully he thought about how he'd never heard his son laugh, never seen him get hurt or sit up for the first time. All of the things he missed while his son grew up came back to him, a sweaty mixture of tears and sweat streaming down his face as he carried on running. 

His pace was faster than usual. He felt forced to run past the neighbour’s house as fast as possible so that he didn’t have to face it while tears were streaming down his face. With his music in his ears and tears clouding his eyes he didn't pay attention as a bike came rolling down the path to his right, heading straight for Mulder. 

Without warning Mulder tripped over the front wheel and catapulted forward, not seeing the bike swerve and head straight for the fence. Mulder caught his fall with bent arms, scraping his hands on the gravelled road, before collapsing on the ground adding another couple of scrapes and bruises to his body. 

He heard a crash and turned around to see the back of a bike stick up from the ditch. Not registering the size of the bike until he heard a scream mixed with a loud cry. William. 

Without hesitation he threw himself towards the young boy and cradled him in his arms. 

“You’re alright, you’re alright,” he cooed. “Are you alright, _Will_?” 

The crying boy held his knee as blood dripped pale leg onto the grass below. Mulder placed a hand on William’s head and held it close to his chest, letting the boy cry into his shirt. 

“I want my mom!” William cried as a steady flow of tears streamed down his cheeks. 

His heart ached at his son’s pleas, knowing that by ‘mom’ he didn't mean Scully. 

“Can you stand up?” Mulder got to his knees trying to get William to stand up. 

The boy tried but his thin legs quickly gave out from under him and he collapsed back in Mulder's arms. 

“You're okay,” he said and lifted William into his arms and started walking towards the boy's house. 

“My bike!” William exclaimed looking over Mulder's shoulder at his crashed bicycle. 

“We'll get it later,” Mulder assured him.

As they reached the house Mulder adjusted William in his arms so he could reach the door handle and let himself in. William sat comfortably on Mulder’s forearm with one arm draped across his shoulder while Mulder tugged on the handle. 

“Where are your parents?” Mulder asked but was greeted by William bursting out into tears again. 

“Hey, hey, it's okay, everything's going to be fine,” Mulder comforted, continuing in a soft voice; “Do you know where your parents are?” 

“They *sniff* went *sniff* to *sniff* the *shop*,” William managed to get out.

_What sort of parent leaves their son alone?_ Mulder thought furiously as he readjusted William on his arm and headed towards his own house. 

“I'm going to take you home with me and we will get you checked out,” Mulder said to William who had now placed his head on Mulder's shoulder, tears still streaming down his face. 

Carrying the boy back to his house Mulder realised that this is what he'd missed out on the past seven years. He should have been there for William’s first bruise, first broken bone, first scraped knees, the first time he fell down the stairs or bumped his head on the cupboard door. All of these were things he knew he'd never get to experience but he sure as hell was going to make sure that his son was unharmed from now on. 

As they reached the porch of the house Mulder called after Scully who met them them in the house. 

“What happened?” she asked worriedly, catching a glimpse of William’s bloody leg.

“We had a little tumble,” Mulder replied and set William down on the kitchen counter. He moved to grab the first aid kit but William wouldn't let go of him. 

“Buddy, I’m just going to get you some bandaids, I’ll be right back,” but William just shooked his head and held on to Mulder.

“I'll get it,” Scully said, quickly returning with antiseptic wipes and some bandages. 

Scully moved a wayward lock of hair from William’s tear filled eyes and cupped his cheek, smiling at him as she wiped his tears. William had stopped crying and turned shy as if a switch had been flicked. Suddenly he realised his whereabouts and noticed he was alone in a stranger’s house. 

“I want my mommy,” William cried sadly. 

“Oh sweetie,” Scully said and leant in to kiss the top of his head. 

She moved her gaze to Mulder and they shared a look that would've been missed by an outsider. _Your mommy is here_ , Scully thought and smiled sadly to Mulder, he knew what she was thinking. 

“Let’s have a little look shall we?” she asked William softly before twisting the little boy's leg to get a better view of the wound. 

William winced at Scully’s touch and Mulder felt the little boy tense up. 

“Hey hey, it's okay,” Mulder comforted. “This is _Doctor_ Scully. She's going to take care of your leg. Okay?” He smiled at Scully when William nodded a ‘yes’ and let her get on with her job.

Scully wiped his leg clean with an antiseptic wipe and made sure there wasn’t any broken bones before she covered the wound with a couple of bandaids. When she was done she pulled out an ice lolly from the freezer and gave it to William.

“You were so brave,” Mulder remarked as William licked his frozen treat. “You did great too,” he whispered to Scully and gave her a quick kiss, noticing she needed comforting.

Scully returned the first aid kit to its place in the cupboard and turned around to look at the two guys who were chatting away in her kitchen. Tears burned at her eyes as they threatened to escape while she envisioned what her life would’ve been if she hadn’t given up her son all those years ago. She knew it was for his safety but not a day went buy where she didn’t feel regret in missing out on her son’s childhood. But here he was, sitting on her kitchen counter, eating a popsicle while talking to Mulder. For a second she forgot that she was just William’s neighbour.

“Say kiddo, do you want to watch some cartoons?” Mulder asked William and the boy nod enthusiastically.

William ran in the direction of the sofa which could be seen from the kitchen and flopped down on the cushioned furniture.

“Mr Mulder, do you have Toy Story?” William asked.

Scully broke out of her thoughts and followed William into the living room. 

“I’m not sure, but we do have Disney Channel,” she said answering his question for Mulder and helped the boy find something to watch, finally settling on Lilo and Stitch.

Scully watched the film with William for a while, her eyes were fixed on William watching the film and she didn’t actually see a single second of the film. But watching her son’s face light up and laugh after his tears earlier made everything terrible in the world disappear.

“Scully,” Mulder leaned over the sofa to get her attention. 

She looked up at him and saw concern written all over his face, she knew he wanted to talk. Scully told William she’d be right back but she doubted the boy would even notice she had left. 

“What’s wrong Mulder?” Scully asked as they stepped away into the kitchen, eyes still fixed on William.

“We can’t keep him here,” he said, concerned Scully was growing attached to the boy.

She kept her eyes on William, only glancing up at Mulder to speak to him.

“Mulder, where are his parents?” she asked, her heart breaking at her own remark. 

“I tried their door but it was locked and William said they’d gone to the shop. I couldn’t just leave him there so I brought him here so you could fix him up,” he said before Scully cut him off.

“Then he can stay here until they come back,” she said matter of factly and turned to walk back to the sofa.

Mulder caught her arm and fixed his eyes on hers but she looked away, incapable of looking him in the eyes. She felt the familiar burn of her eyes and this time she didn’t fight the tears and let them fall, fast at first before the friction of her pale skin slowed them down before they fell off the bottom her face.

“Oh Scully,” Mulder pulled her into an embrace and whispered softly into her hair, “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

He felt her arms circle his waist and tug at the back of his, still sweaty, t-shirt as her tears soaked through it like William’s had earlier.

“They’re home!” William squealed from the sofa as he ran up to the window to see his parent’s car pull into their driveway.

Mulder and Scully stepped out of their embrace and walked over to where William was standing. Scully looked up at Mulder and smiled sadly, their short, but sweet, moment with their son was over.

“Right,” Mulder said, putting his hands on William’s shoulders. “Let’s get you back home.”

“But I’m not finished with Stitch,” William pouted.

“Your parents will be worried when they can’t see you,” Mulder said. _There’s that word again_ he thought as it cut right through his heart.

“We’ll finish it another time,” Scully smiled before getting William’s helmet from the kitchen counter where they’d left it earlier.

Opening the door Mulder looked back at Scully, expecting her to follow them to drop William off.

“I can’t ,” she said, shaking her head sadly. 

“I’ll come back as fast as I can,” Mulder smiled at her before leaving out the door with William.

\-- 

"I can feel you thinking," Scully said, breaking the silence between them. 

"I just can't believe it," Mulder muffled into her neck as he spooned her from behind. 

"Me neither," she sighed. 

“He looks just like you Scully,” he said. "I'd recognise those blue Scully eyes anywhere." 

 

Scully smiled sadly at the thought of her son looking like her. She couldn’t help but think if he’d notice how similar he looked to the couple next door. Did he know he was adopted? Did his parents ever tell him that or have they lied to him his entire life?

“He’s got you nose,” she said and turned around in their bed so she could look at him. 

“Poor guy,” he chuckled.

“No,” she shook her head and traced a line down the bridge of his nose. “I love it.”

Mulder smiled back at her before closing the distance between them and kissing her nose.

“Yours is cuter,” he replied, kissing her lips once before lying back, gazing at Scully. 

Silence fell between them again as they lay there, eyes traveling across each other’s faces trying to figure out what William had inherited from the other. His nose was definitely Mulder’s, eyes were Scully’s. His hair was dark just like Mulder’s but had traces of Scully’s red when the sun shone on it. Scully thought of the short time she’d sat next to him while he watched Lilo and Stitch, he definitely had Mulder’s curiosity and imagination. Whether or not they had raised him he was still their son.

 

“Mulder…” Scully said into the silence. "What can we do?" 

Scully said the words Mulder had been thinking since he first saw William the day before. What could they possibly do with the information they'd acquired, they couldn’t just walk across to the neighbour’s and tell them that they were actually their son’s parents.

"Nothing," Mulder replied. "We can't do anything."

"He's our son, Mulder…” her voice cracked as she spole; “Our son."

Mulder sat up and scooted back so he could lean against the headboard. Scully followed suit sitting next to him with her legs curled underneath her. 

“I know, I want to do everything in my power to make sure he knows who we are, but we can’t,” he said.

"Mulder..." tears caught in her voice hindered her from speak. Scully tried to regain control of her voice and looked down as she felt the salty wetness fall down her cheeks. 

With a soft touch Mulder lifted her chin up to look her in the eyes. He nodded, letting her know he felt the same way, before he brushed away her tears with his thumb. Scully smiled into his touch and regained the strength to hold back the tears. 

"I can’t just be a stranger to him Mulder, he's my son." 

“When I realised it was William on that bike this morning, it tore my heart apart. I hurt him,” he said. “I hurt our son and all he wanted was his parents. They weren’t there so I took him to you. I knew you could help him, make him feel better, and you did. You healed him and took care of him just like you’ve done to me a thousand times over.”

Mulder reached out and took her hand in his, his thumb stroked her soft skin to comfort her, before continuing.

“And then you gave him a popsicle and in that moment it felt like this was how our lives had always been, like we hadn’t missed the past 7 years of our son’s life.” He felt how tears had started falling down his face.

“You’ve seen him Scully, there is no doubt he’s our son and there is nothing that is ever going to stop me from loving him. He’s our son, Scully…”

“But we're not his parents." she said finishing his thoughts.

 

“No we’re not,” he whispered sadly.

And with those words there was no stopping her tears as they wet her cheeks. Loud sobs escaped her mouth while Mulder pulled her into an embrace. Her tears soaked his bare chest as she clutched onto him for dear life. 

"It's okay, Scully. It's okay," he whispered into her hair as she cried in his arms. 

“No it’s not,” she managed to sniffle. “It’s not and it never will be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at writing words that flow nicely together but I try my best. There's always room for improvement so don't hesitate to tell me what parts sucked! And I'm always looking for a beta!


	3. forty-eight hours

_“Ssh, don’t cry baby,” Mulder cooed as he rocked his one day old son in his arms trying to sooth his crying son. “Mommy’s just in the shower, she’ll be right back.”_

_Scully had stepped into the shower less than five minutes ago and it took twenty seconds for William to notice his mother’s absence until he started wailing. Mulder hurried to pick him up from his crib where he was lying and gently patted the baby’s bottom trying to keep him from crying. It was a wasted effort as the baby was inconsolable without his mother’s presence._

_Mulder whispered calming words as he placed tender kisses to the baby’s soft skin while he bobbed around the living room waiting for Scully to finish up in the shower. Both Scully and Mulder were exhausted from the traumatic birth of their son, which regretfully Mulder had missed by a mere couple of minutes, and the following night’s lack of sleep as their new bundle of joy was also an insomniac just like his dad._

_He heard the water stop and held his breath until he could see Scully emerge from the bathroom wrapped in a towel._

_“You okay there?” she asked Mulder who was awkwardly holding their crying son._

_“I will be when you come and save me from this thing,” he smiled back._

_As Scully stepped towards him taking William from his arms the baby stopped crying and settled his head on his mother’s bare shoulder. There was something about his mother’s embrace that could lull him right to sleep and it didn’t take long until his eyes were closed and light snores wheezed through his tiny little nose._

_“See it’s not that difficult,” Scully poked at Mulder who looked absolutely beaten._

_“I don’t know how I’m going to get through this... “ Mulder said defeatedly. “I need my beauty sleep.”_

_“You’ve managed the past 9 years with barely any sleep,” Scully huffed at him. “Besides I think you already lucked out on the beauty part.”_

_With three long strides Mulder was now caught up with Scully who had started her way towards the bedroom to get dressed. He pulled her into his arms, careful not to wake the baby, and dug his fingers in her sides lightly._

_“It’s a good thing you’re holding William or I’d have to consult in tickling you for that remark,” Mulder said, knowing just how ticklish Scully was._

_“You wouldn’t dare!” Scully said, almost expecting him to tickle her anyway._

_Leaning his head on her shoulder Mulder looked over at how his son was sleeping peacefully in his mother’s arms. William’s birth had been anything but peaceful and Mulder knew the trauma Scully had gone through along with the fear of losing her child to Billy Miles and the other people in that cabin last night. As they had laid in bed the night before Scully had told him of her fears of William being taken from her, to which Mulder promised her that he would never let anything happen to either of them. He was a father now it was his obligation to protect him and Scully for that matter._

_\- - -_

_The sun had set hours ago but William had finally stopped resisting sleep and was now lying peacefully in his crib in the corner of the room as Mulder and Scully were propped up on their bed._

_“How about a townhouse in Georgetown?” Mulder had decided they needed to upsize their living arrangements because there was no way all of his things could fit in Scully’s tiny apartment._

_“They’re beautiful and we’d be happy but I can’t see us living in the city. Scully imagine a house in the countryside, not too far from DC so we could still work for the FBI. Well, you could still work for the FBI, I don’t think they want me back.”_

_Scully had suggested they’d just move into a larger apartment in the same building but Mulder had his mind set in creating a home which they would spend the rest of their lives in. When he was young he grew up at the Vineyard where he had so many memories from. He wanted his son to grow up in a big house where they’d create all of his memories, where they’d notch William’s height on the doorframe in the kitchen as he grew taller for each year._

_He imagined William sliding down the banister even though he was told off by Scully every time he did it and wouldn’t stop until the day he’d fall off and hurt himself. Mulder would come home and kiss him better and William would promise he’d never slide down ever again, Scully would just mutter that he should have listened to her and it wouldn’t have happened in the first place. He could already hear the pitter patter of William’s feet as he made his way to his parent’s room on Christmas morning shouting “He came, he came! Santa came! I was a good boy daddy!”_

_This same house would be the place where William would bring home his first girlfriend when he’s eight and they’d play on the swingset in the backyard. Mulder would hear their laughter from inside the kitchen where he’d be making them lunch with a special treat of chocolate ice cream for dessert._

_For William’s ninth birthday Mulder would build him a baseball field in the back of their two acre property where he’d teach him all the things he learnt when he was a boy._

_“We are NOT building a baseball field in our backyard Mulder!” Scully exclaimed, pulling Mulder out of his thoughts. Without realising he had spoken his last thought which did not sit well with Scully._

_“C’mon Scully, you know how much fun we had on that field three years ago, imagine all the fun we’d get up to on our own private baseball field.”_

_“Definitely not,” Scully said sternly._

_Mulder, not taking no for an answer, put on a sad pout and tried his best to pull a puppy face which he knew Scully couldn’t deny._

_“Don’t even think about it, Mulder,” she said and covered his face with her tiny hand as he tried to advance on her._

_He snaked one hand to her hip before repeating his line from all those years ago._

_“Hips before hands Scully,” he said seductively and pulled her body towards him, her hand still covering his face._

_She let out a giggle which let Mulder know she was in a playful mood and as his other hand grabbed hold of hers he removed it from her face before his lips crashed down on hers. They were both exhausted from the past twentyfour hours but she was never too tired to kiss Mulder._

_“It’s still a no,” Scully said as she broke their kiss, Mulder’s face falling sad once again. “And stop pouting Mulder, you’re going to give William all your terrible habits.”_

_“We’ll be two against one Scully, you know it,” he said proudly as he tried to continue kissing her._

_She moved her face just has his lips were about to graze hers so he kissed her ear instead. She would come to regret that move as she felt Mulder’s hand quickly move to her sides and started to tickle her._

_“NO!” she squealed. “Aah! Mulder! Stop! Shh! Oh my god Mulder please!”_

_Her laughter filled the room while he continued his tickle assault on her sides as her hands slapped on the shoulders trying to get him to stop. He refused to halt his tickles but used one of his hands to grab onto hers to stop her slapping. Scully started wiggle her entire body to try and get away from Mulder but his body was so much heavier on her so she was stuck. That was until she pulled her left arm free and accidentally elbowed Mulder straight on the nose._

_“Owh!” Mulder yelled and rolled of Scully as he held onto his nose.  
The giggling stopped as they heard William whimper in his crib and Scully turned her attention to her son rather than Mulder’s injured face. She picked him up and carried him with her to sit back on the bed where Mulder was still holding on to his nose. _

_“You hurt me!” he muffled through his hands. “I think you broke it”_

_“Don’t be silly, besides it’s your own fault,” Scully said as she tried to calm William down by rocking him slightly. “And you woke William up so you deserve it.”_

_Mulder checked his fingers if there were any traces of blood before he sat up to look at mother and son and noticed Scully’s eyes drooping from tiredness._

_“Here let me take him and you sleep,” he said and reached for his son._

_Scully was hesitant at first but then handed William over to his father and laid down in bed, she was asleep within the minute._

_\- - -_

_Scully padded into the living room the next morning to find a shirtless Mulder lying on the sofa with William sleeping on his chest. She sat down on the coffee table, taking in the view of her two favourite guys as they slept on. They were both shattered from William’s lack of routine and Scully didn’t have the heart to wake Mulder from his sleep. He looked so peaceful as he laid on his back with William curled up on his chest, barely covering a quarter of his father’s torso. His tiny little hand was propped under his chin as his father’s was draped protectively on his back to stop him from falling off him. Their sofa was wide, leaving a wide space between Mulder and the back of the sofa so there was no worry of William falling onto the floor._

_She let him sleep for a while longer as she prepared breakfast for the two of them before she felt it was time he woke up. Sitting back on the coffee table she gently ran her fingers through his soft hair, moving wayward pieces of brown hair from his forehead and placing kisses on his cheek until he woke. They shared breakfast together as William slept on after they’d placed him in his crib._

_\- - -_

_It was late afternoon when Mulder received a call from an anonymous caller who claimed they had information on plans involving William and his purpose in life. The source had several reliable pieces of information which Mulder couldn’t ignore._

_Scully stood silently by as she watch Mulder pack up his belongings in his old apartment, only packing the necessities and leaving all else for when he would return. He promised Scully he’d only be away a month, two tops, before he’d return and they’d move into their house where he’d build William a baseball field when he turned nine._

_As he zipped up the last bag he stood to see tears streaming down Scully’s cheeks as she cradled William close to her body, rocking him so he feel her trembling._

_“C’mere,” Mulder said as he stepped towards her, bringing her into his embrace._

_He wrapped his arms around her, leaving space for William who was between them. His lips found their place on her temple and he kissed her three times before placing his forehead to hers._

_“I’ll come back,” he whispered softy. “I have to do this, for you and for William, there’s no other way. This is not about the truth or my own selfish ways anymore. Scully this is for your safety. I believe what this man has told me, I believe William is in danger.”_

_A cold tear fell from his eyes has he spoke, he knew she would understand but after all that they had been through they finally had hope of an end their misery. He needed to leave his partner and son so that he could keep them safe, after all it was his fault that they were in danger. Perhaps life would be easier for Scully and William had he just stayed dead._

_The ride back to Scully’s apartment was silent bar William’s humming in his carseat. Scully didn’t say a word to Mulder after they’d returned home and went straight to the kitchen to cook them dinner while he laid on the floor with William between his arms as he peppered his son with kisses._

_“I promise you I’ll come back and I will change all of your smelly diapers and wash all the dishes for your mommy,” Mulder told his son while William just stared back at him._

_“Ohw!” Scully exclaimed from the kitchen which brought Mulder quickly to his feet as he rushed to her side._

_“What happened?”_

_“Nothing.”_

_“Scully, you’re bleeding. Let me help you.” He grabbed the nearest towel and held it to her sliced finger._

_“Don’t!” Scully said sternly. “I can do this on my own.”_

_“I know you can. Let me help.”_

_“What’s the point?” Scully barked._

_“Hey! What’s going on?”_

_“I’m fine,” she said but moved out of his reach when he held out his hand to her. “I have to learn to take care of myself when you’re gone. I can’t afford to need help now that I have William to think about.”_

_Mulder saw her bottom lip tremble as tears spilled, leaving a wet trace down her cheeks._

_“C’mere,” he said and stepped towards her before wrapping his long arms around her, resting his cheek on her head. “I’ll be back, I promise.”_

_“I’m scared,” she whispered, her voice still trembling._

_“Me too, but it will all be better the sooner I can get us safe.”_

_Scully sniffed and nodded her head against his chest. With a light finger he lifter her chin so he could see her tear filled eyes before placing a soft kiss to her forehead._

_“No more tears,” he said and caught a droplet in a kiss before wiping the rest with his thumbs. “Let’s eat.”_

_After eating and Mulder had washed up the dishes they laid down in bed in silence with William between them. Tears had threatened to spill each time either of them attempted to speak so they had settled to kisses and caresses to express what words could not say. They both knew this would be the last time they saw each other for some time, little did they know of all the events that would happen between now and the next time they’d see each other._

_\- - -_

_“I love you baby. Be good for your mom,” he said to William before kissing his soft head._

_“I love you too,” Mulder whispered to Scully as he opened the door to leave._

_She smiled at him, tears threatening to fall as she returned his words and kissed him quick before the door closed in front of her. And he was gone._

__

The door slammed shut as Scully returned from work. Mulder jolted back to reality leaving his memories of his two days with William. They were days filled of joy and hopes for a future of love and laughter but instead he was back to seven years later where he found himself happy but missing the most important thing in life, his son.

He’d seen William play in his yard earlier that morning and couldn’t erase him from his mind and as the TV ran in the background he phased out and thought back to the two most beautiful days of his life. He had never felt as happy as in that moment when he woke with William on his chest and Scully’s soft hands running through his hair as she coaxed him awake.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Scully chirped as she flopped down on the sofa next to Mulder, stretching to plant a quick kiss on the side of his mouth.  
“Not much,” he replied, letting go of his thoughts and turned his attention to her. “How was the hospital?”

“Same old, same old,” she replied. “You sure you’re okay, you look a little lost.”

“Yeah, just tired,” he lied, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him.

Scully smiled and brought her leg up on the sofa as she leaned into Mulder’s warm chest. She let out a deep breath and relaxed into his embrace, leaning her head on his shoulder as he nuzzled her hair.

“I love you,” Mulder said, breaking the silence that filled the room.

Scully smiled up at Mulder, softly stroking his cheek with her thumb. They rarely said those three words to each other because it was the last words they both had said to their son when they last saw him.

She kissed him softly as she felt that familiar burn at her eyes as tears threatened to spill.

“We’ll be okay,” she said and settled back in his embrace.

Mulder looked around at the home he created in the house with the two acre backyard which could fit a homemade baseball field. 

All that was missing was his son.


	4. Better than slutty nurse?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> William trick-or-treats at the Mulder and Scully household.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted without beta.

It was late afternoon when Scully returned home from another shift at the hospital. Her feet were sore from standing all day and her head ached due to back to back surgeries. All she wished for was a quiet weekend home with Mulder and a long bath.

Opening the door she was greeted by a wall of spiderweb and eerie music playing from the livingroom. 

“Mulder?” she called and immediately she heard him running down the stairs 

“Happy Halloween!”

“What in heavens are you wearing Mulder?”

“The scariest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” He was wearing one of his old FBI suits that had hung at the back of his office the past ten years, with no hope of seeing the light of day. His thick hair was hidden under a bald cap and his beard was shaven off. On top of his nose sat a pair of round silver framed glasses.

“Skinner?”

“Forget Flukemen, Vampires, Flying Cows, Parasites and Alien Super-Soldiers, Scully. You know that the scariest part of being on The X-Files was when you sat outside his office waiting to be yelled at.”

“I don’t know Mulder, he was always so nice to me, encouraging me and making sure I was alright. I think he just hated you,” she said with a smirk.

“Whatever Scully, if you don’t put your costume on within the next five minutes you’re not getting any dinner,” he said, moving to greet her with a kiss.

“There is no way I’m kissing you while you look like that,” she protested and pushed him away; her tiny hands on his broad chest. “And I don’t have a costume so I’m going to have a bath.”

“Firstly, you have kissed Skinner before, in fact you kissed him before you kissed me, and secondly, you do have a costume and it’s on the bed,” with that he kissed her quick before she had time to react.

With heavy steps she walked up to the bedroom to find a costume spread out on the bed just as Mulder had said.

After having a quick shower she headed back down in her robe to Mulder’s dismay. 

“Scully, where’s your costume?” he pouted.  
“There is no way in hell I’m wearing that!” 

“But it’s just like you,” he smirked, knowing very well he was getting himself in trouble.

“First of all, I am not a nurse, I’m a doctor,” she said and swatted him on the arm. “And second of all, there is no way I am putting on a slutty nurse costume!”

“Okay fine,” Mulder pouted again. “There’s another costume in your closet so hurry up and get changed or we’ll be late for the trick-or-treaters! 

Mulder and Scully had been invited around the Van De Kamp’s house a few weeks earlier for dinner and Halloween and been brought up. As they lived in the middle of nowhere, with William being the only child in the nearest ten mile radius, Peter Van De Kamp had been asking the other four neighbours if they would do them a favour and be home for Halloween so William and his new friends from school could go trick-or-treating. The Van De Kamps had a tradition of hosting annual Halloween parties that apparently were out of this world. Mulder had said yes in a heartbeat, knowing that it would make William happy, and he couldn’t wait to see what William would dress up as.

Mulder had planned his and Scully’s outfits for two weeks and been preparing their house while she’d been at work the last few days leading up to Halloween. Their front yard had become a spooky graveyard, the porch was covered in spider web with large automatic spiders crawling up and down the banister. Mulder had even been up on the roof where he had put a number of scary looking gargoyles overlooking the whole scene.

“You ready?” Mulder called up the stairs, as he paced the living room, looking at his watch.

It was almost time for the party to show up at their house and Mulder was ecstatic, they’d never had trick-or-treaters before, not since moving to the house. 

“Are they here yet?” Mulder heard Scully ask as he turned to see her coming down the stairs.

Dressed in a short black dress with red and white detailing, paired with a long red cape and black stilettos to complete the outfit. Her lips were painted red and she was wearing false eyelashes, she didn’t look herself. 

“Wow,” Mulder said, his jaw fallen slack. “You look… wow!”

“Better than slutty nurse?” she smirked.

“Yeah! C’mere,” he said, closing the distance between them and wrapping his arms around her, hands resting just above her ass. 

“You’re not getting anything until you look like someone I actually want to kiss,” she said with pursed lips as she yet again pushed him away.

“What about Eddie Van Blundht?” he asked, remembering that time he walked in on her about to kiss someone who looked like him.

“He looked like someone I wanted to kiss,” she teased before swatting his ass and headed into the kitchen for dinner. 

Mulder had cooked shepherd’s pie and Scully cleared her plate within minutes, showing just how hungry she had been after a day’s work. They were now sat in front of the TV, feeling ridiculous in their costumes as it was just the two of them. They hadn’t planned on dressing up until Mary Van De Kamp had invited them over to the party after they had been trick-or-treating, and since they had no other plans they thought it would be fun to dress up and join the party.

“What do you think William will be wearing?” Mulder asked, looking up at Scully from where he was laying with his head in her lap.

“I don’t know,” she thought. “Maybe a vampire? Or a skeleton?” 

“I think he’s going as a baseball player. I always see him out there with his bat,” Mulder trailed off before he choked up.

It had been several months since the Van De Kamps had moved in next door, and although it was a blessing to see their son again it was hard to see him happy and unknowing of who his neighbours really were.

The motion sensors had kicked off outside and a horror laugh could be heard through the window, letting Mulder and Scully know that they had visitors. Mulder went into the kitchen to get the bowl of candy while Scully got ready to open the door as the bell rang.

“TRICK-OR-TREAT!” sang a choir of ten young children as the door opened.

Peter Van De Kamp was stood at the back as the kids took a turn to choose their treats from the much too big bowl of candy that Mulder had bought.

“What a beautiful princess,” Scully chirped to the young girl who twirled as she picked a handful of candy before allowing a Stormtrooper to go next.

William was stood fourth in line behind a growling werewolf followed, a pumpkin and ghost. He was dressed in a suit and had his hair slicked to the side.

“And what are you dressed as young William?” Scully asked as she lowered the bowl for him to reach.

“Guess!” William said excitedly, clearly on a sugar high.

“Umm, a lawyer?”

“No silly! Guess again!”

Scully looked at Mulder, looking for him to help her out.

 “A businessman?” Mulder asked from behind Scully.

 “I’m an FBI Agent!” William yelled, tired of the adults not guessing his costume.

Mulder felt his heart skip a beat and tears threaten to spill. He looked at Scully who was equally taken aback by the boy’s costume, never in a million years would she have imagined William dress up as an FBI agent.

 “Wow,” Mulder finally got out, flabbergasted .

“Have you got a gun and a badge too?” Scully asked, crouching down to get a better look at the boy, her red hood falling off her head as she sat down.

“Dad wouldn’t let me have a gun but I have a badge!” William said as he opened his suit jacket and pulled out a black piece of paper with F B I scrawled over it. He opened it to show it to Scully and she saw a little picture of William glued onto the inside of the paper with “Special Agent William Van De Kamp” written in the same handwriting.

“That’s so cool!” Scully said excitedly, before looking up at Mulder who was still stunned. “Guess what?” 

“What?” William repeated. 

“We used to be FBI agents,” Scully explained. “A long time ago, Mulder and I hunted bad guys, and dressed just like you are.”

William’s face lit up, amazed to have met two real life FBI agents.

“That is so cool! Dad did you hear that! Dana and Mr. Mulder are FBI agents!” William squealed as he jumped up and down in excitement.

Scully turned around to look at Mulder again, but he was gone.|  
  
“Mulder?” she called into the house but go no reply. 

Weird, she thought as she reached out the bowl to let William pick a handful of candy and because he was the last one in line she allowed him two handfuls.

As William and his dad started walking away from the house after thank Scully for the candy Mulder came running back to the door.

“Wait up Will!” he called, his tie flying in the wind.

William stopped mid-step and turned around to see Mulder kneel down in front of him.

“I got you something.” 

Mulder held out his hand with a leather rectangle covering his palm. Stretching his hand William took the item in his hand and gasped as he turned it over.

“Wow!” he said, jaw almost hitting the ground.

“Pretty cool huh?” Mulder smiled as William’s face lit up. “This is my old badge, now you’re a real FBI agent.” 

“Look dad!” William turned on his heel and ran up to his and held up the badge. “Freeze FBI!”

Peter held up his hands and chuckled before looking at Mulder to thank him.

 “We’ll be over in fifteen minutes,” Mulder said and went back to his house.

Fifteen minutes, how was he supposed to get over his emotions in fifteen minutes. He ripped his bald cap off and ran his hands through his hair as he sunk down on the sofa.

“Who would’ve thought,” Scully said, joining Mulder on the couch.

Reaching for his hand she looked at him, her eyes finding his as she saw the eyes threaten to spill. Mulder had taken the whole situation much worse than her, perhaps it was because Scully had been the one who spent months with their son before the threats took over and the only safe place for William was as far away from her as possible. But a part of Scully knew it was because Mulder blamed himself for William not being part of their life anymore, blamed himself for losing their son.

She closed the distance between them, softly caressing his freshly shaven cheeks as she placed a lingering kiss on his lips. The kiss wasn’t meant to deepen but a desperation from Mulder’s side pulled her onto his lap and his tongue darted into her mouth. Hands roamed bodies while pants filled the room. Scully could feel Mulder’s growing erection and pulled away. This was not the time, they had a party to attend. 

Scully kissed Mulder once more, tasting the salt of the tears that had trickled down his face before wiping them dry.

“C’mon big guy, we’ve got a party to go to,” she said and pulled the bald cap over Mulder’s hair and placed the glasses back on his face.

Pulling him out of the sofa she reached for the bowl of candy and with her hand in his they walked over to the Van De Kamps.

Arriving at the neighbour’s house they could hear the music blaring in the living room as they walked up the front steps. Scully stopped at the top of the stairs and pulled Mulder towards her.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” Mulder looked down at her and could see she didn’t believe him. “I will be.”

Somewhat happy with that answer she stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick peck.

“I thought you wouldn’t kiss me when I looked like old Skinman.”

“What can I say, I’ve always had a thing for Assistant Directors,” Scully smirked and swung around to knock on the door.

The party was an event unlike others either Mulder and Scully had attended, not that they had ever really attended parties. If Scully thought Mulder had decorated the house too much she immediately changed her mind when she stepped into the Van De Kamp’s house. It was decked floor to ceiling in Halloween decorations and spooky music was coming out of the speakers that were hung in each corner of the room. 

Ten kids with parents and Scully and Mulder were gathered in the Van De Kamp’s living room as they played games, ate candy, drank punch and danced. William spent the entire evening, high on sugar, running around showing everyone the FBI badge he had got from Mulder. At one point of the evening he had got Mulder to tell him stories of when he was in the FBI, and to Scully’s surprise he didn’t mention a single monster, neither by name or race.

By eleven the children were being carried out of the house by their parents and William was asleep on the couch, candy wrappers spread around him. He was clutching Mulder’s badge as he slept.

“Hey bud,” Peter Van De Kamp said as he tried to wake William. “Time to wake up and give Mr Mulder back his badge, I bet he’ll be needing it. 

William didn’t flinch as he continued to sleep.

 “It’s alright, let him keep it,” Mulder said, not wanting to wake up William.

“You sure?” 

“He’ll have better use for it than me anyway,” Mulder replied.

Scully thanked Peter for inviting them and smiled at the sleeping William before she followed Mulder out the door.

Mulder sat down on the couch again for the tenth time that day, he was exhausted but still buzzing from the alcohol he’d drunk. While he sat in the living room Scully headed up the stairs to change out of her costume and get ready for bed.

Lights flickered from the TV as she came back down to find Mulder half asleep. His glasses were on the coffee table and he’d loosened the tie around his neck so he could unbutton the top button of his shirt. He looked so peaceful that Scully almost didn’t want to wake him, but she knew he wouldn’t want to miss out on what she had planned. 

“Hey sleepyhead,” she whispered, stroking his cheek softly.

“Hmm?”

“I’ve got a surprise for you.” 

He opened his eyes to looked at her questioning. She had changed out of her Little Red Riding Hood outfit and was now wearing her robe again.

“What kind of surprise?”

“If you get your butt up to bed in five minutes, leaving Skinner behind, I might tell you,” she said, pulling off the bald cap.

Five minutes later Mulder was ready in bed, clad only in his boxers, his usual sleeping outfit.

“C’mon Scully, I’m tired and have a headache,” he cried, not noticing that Scully had come out of the bathroom.

“Do you want me to help you get rid of that headache?” she asked, smiling down at Mulder as he opened his eyes. She straddled Mulder, wearing the outfit he had picked out for her, and captured his lips in hers.

“Oh, doctor Scully,” he panted in between kisses and pulled her towards him, his hands roaming over her bare thighs.

Her outfit didn’t leave much to the imagination and neither did her actions as she reached between them to find his hard length as she darted her tongue in his mouth.

“Happy Halloween, Mulder,” she said and kissed him hard.


End file.
